Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2013 Aug;270(8):2207-14. doi: 10.1007/s00405-012-2272-4. Epub 2012 Nov 13.
The vestibulocochlear nerve is a sensory nerve that serves the organs of hearing and equilibrium. Neuropathies of the nerve, particularly auditory neuropathy may be caused by primary demyelination or by axonal diseases. In disorders affecting the cochlear nerve, it is probable that the vestibular nerve is involved as well. There are isolated reports of the involvement of the inferior vestibular nerve (using vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials) in individuals with AN. However, there is a dearth of information on the involvement of the superior vestibular nerve and other functions such as optokinetic, saccade and vestibulo-occular reflex. A total of three subjects diagnosed as having auditory neuropathy, underwent an extensive vestibular assessment consisting of clinical tests of stability (Romberg, Fukuda stepping test), administration of dizziness questionnaire developed by Maryland hearing and balance centre, cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials and a standard electronystagmography test battery. In the present study, the entire subject population assessed showed hypofunctional caloric responses and absent VEMPs. Two out of the three subjects were asymptomatic of vestibular dysfunction. On the clinical tests of stability, two subjects showed deviations to the right, while one subject performed normally. Thus, the present study indicates a possible involvement of peripheral vestibular nerve involvement in individuals with auditory neuropathy.
前庭耳蜗神经是一种感觉神经，为听觉和平衡器官服务。神经病变，特别是听觉神经病，可能由原发性脱髓鞘或轴突疾病引起。在影响耳蜗神经的疾病中，前庭神经也可能受到影响。有孤立的报道称，在患有听觉神经病的个体中，下前庭神经（使用前庭诱发肌源性电位）受到累及。然而，关于上前庭神经和其他功能（如视动性、扫视和前庭眼反射）的信息很少。共有 3 名被诊断为听觉神经病的患者接受了广泛的前庭评估，包括稳定性的临床测试（Romberg、Fukuda 踏步测试）、马里兰听力和平衡中心开发的头晕问卷的管理、颈部前庭诱发肌源性电位和标准眼震图测试。在本研究中，评估的整个受试者群体表现出冷刺激反应功能低下和前庭诱发肌源性电位缺失。3 名受试者中有 2 名无症状前庭功能障碍。在稳定性的临床测试中，2 名受试者向右侧偏斜，而 1 名受试者表现正常。因此，本研究表明听觉神经病患者可能存在外周前庭神经受累。
